_with_four_R-class_submarines_at_San_Diego,_in_the_early_1920s_(NH_101183).jpg')) Submarine tender Camden at San Diego, California, in the early 1920s with four R-class submarines moored alongside. Closest to the camera is USS R-8, farthest from it is R-6, and the two submarines between them are unidentified. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg.png){kind=small} United States | |
| Name: | USS R-8 |
| Ordered: | 29 August 1916 |
| Builder: | Fore River Shipbuilding, Quincy, Massachusetts |
| Laid down: | 4 March 1918 |
| Launched: | 17 April 1919 |
| Commissioned: | 21 July 1919 |
| Decommissioned: | 2 May 1931 |
| Stricken: | 12 May 1936 |
| Fate: | Sunk as target, 19 August 1936 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | R-class submarine |
| Displacement: |
|
| Length: | 186 ft 2 in (56.74 m) |
| Beam: | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
| Draft: | 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) |
| Propulsion: | Diesel-electric |
| Speed: |
|
| Complement: | 34 officers and men |
| Armament: |
|
USS R-8 (SS-85) was an R-class coastal and harbor defense submarine of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on 4 March 1918 by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 17 April 1919 sponsored by Ms. Penelope Potter, and commissioned on 21 July 1919 with Lieutenant Commander Philip C. Ransom in command.
Service history
1919–1929
R-8 fitted out at Boston, Massachusetts, during the fall of 1919, proceeded to New London, Connecticut on 5 December, joined other boats of Submarine Division 9 (SubDiv 9), and continued south for winter exercises in the Gulf of Mexico. She operated out of Pensacola, Florida, until returning to New England in April. Given hull classification symbol "SS-85" in July, she departed Newport, Rhode Island on 13 September and two days later arrived at Norfolk for overhaul prior to transfer to the Pacific Fleet. Sea trials in early April 1921 followed, and on 21 April she headed south. Transiting the Panama Canal in May, she arrived at San Pedro, California, her new homeport on 30 June, and for the next two years conducted exercises — individual, divisional and fleet — off the coasts of California and Mexico.
On 16 July 1923, R-8 sailed west for Pearl Harbor, her base for almost eight years — during which she engaged in training and operations with fleet units. In late October 1925, she collided with the minesweeper USS Widgeon (AM-22), suffering the loss of her periscopes, the destruction of her bridge, and damage to her radio antenna supports. In August 1927, she searched for missing Dole Air Race aviators.
1930–1936
Ordered back to the East Coast for inactivation in 1930, R-8 departed Pearl Harbor on 12 December, transited the Panama Canal in mid-January 1931, and arrived at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 9 February. Decommissioned on 2 May, she was berthed at Philadelphia as a unit of the Reserve Fleet until 1936. On 26 February of that year, while still in a state of preservation, she sank. Later raised, she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 12 May 1936 and on 19 August she was used as a target vessel for an aerial bombing test. Four near-misses with 100 lb (45 kg) bombs sank her 71 mi (114 km) off Cape Henry, Virginia.
Wreck
Side-scan sonar images of a well-preserved submarine wreck believed to be R-8 were published in December 2020; it is intended to dive the wreck, off Ocean City, Maryland, to confirm its identity in 2021.[1][2] The wreck was discovered by Joe Mazraani's team on the salvage vessel Tenacious, which previously discovered the wreck of U-550 in 2012.[3]
References
- ^ "Wreckage Of American Submarine Found Off The Coast Of Ocean City, Maryland". CBS Baltimore. 10 December 2020. Archived from the original on 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ Miller, Hallie (10 December 2020). "American submarine discovered off Ocean City coast". Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ "Finding the R-8". Soundings. March 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- Photo gallery of USS R-8 at NavSource Naval History